Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Purchased by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 0.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 329,800 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $51,201,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 126.0% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 37,305 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,966,000 after acquiring an additional 20,800 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 292.5% during the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,733 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $648,000 after purchasing an additional 3,527 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 601.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 277,561 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $37,993,000 after buying an additional 238,007 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 326.0% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 15,882 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,114,000 after buying an additional 12,154 shares during the period. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at $5,266,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $161.38 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $154.31 and a 200-day moving average of $147.89. The firm has a market cap of $18.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $123.04 and a twelve month high of $162.88.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.32%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. This trade represents a 14.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 22,520 shares of company stock worth $3,472,728 in the last quarter. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Baird R W raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.58.

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated provides diagnostic testing and services in the United States and internationally. The company develops and delivers diagnostic information services, such as routine, non-routine and advanced clinical testing, anatomic pathology testing, and other diagnostic information services.